


Contractually Obligated

by Metal_Chocobo



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Demon Deals, First Kiss, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 01:17:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17234696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Chocobo/pseuds/Metal_Chocobo
Summary: When Webby was sixteen Lena warned her she wouldn’t be able to summon a demon.





	Contractually Obligated

When she was sixteen Lena warned her she wouldn’t be able to summon a demon. Still, Webby tried anyway after weeks of study, careful deliberation, and practicing the Sumerian chant in small enough chunks it wouldn’t invoke a summoning by accident. She even ethically sourced all the best materials to entice a demon into her grasp. However, when she finally tried it, Webby couldn’t get the candles to splutter or pop, much less actually summon a demon into her circle.

It wasn’t fair. All Louie had done was place a fifty dollar bill in the center of his summoning circle and read off the chemical ingredients of a gas station sandwich as he ate it, which netted him an imp that was already well on its way to making him a millionaire by the time he reached twenty-one. Huey and Dewey had almost done well with their demonic pacts, which left Webby rightly sore on the whole subject. After all, while she didn’t need an orderly woodchuck demon like Huey or some nebulous “spirit of adventure” creature like Dewey, she still wanted a demon of her own. Instead she got Lena bursting into the attic room, where she thought she’d have some privacy for the ritual, and immediately telling her to knock it off.

“You gonna let me in or what?” Lena demanded as she impatiently tapped her foot just outside Webby’s protective circle. Webby hastened to the edge and ran a toe through the salt barrier so that there was a gap. Then Lena stepped inside.

Lena had explained ages ago to Webby that she would never cross one of her spooky magical protective circles and if she wanted her company she’d have to let in her. Webby had always found good manners to be important, and she never wanted to be without Lena, so it was a fairly minor incontinence on her part to typically break and reform her protective barriers for her friend. Was it a weird refusal on Lena’s part? Sure, but they all had their quirks and Lena would never put her in danger by demanding Webby break a circle when there was a demon around. She’d always put in extra effort for Lena.

“I had only been trying to summon a demon for fifteen minutes,” Webby grumbled. “You could have given me more time before showing up and insisting I stop.”

“You could have fifteen minutes or fifteen years, but you won’t get anything in that circle,” Lena said, gesturing toward Webby’s carefully made summoning circle. “You don’t have the right bait.”

“I’ve got a soul,” Webby retorted indignantly, “and how did you even know I was trying to summon today?”

“I know you have a soul, Webby, and it’s a very pretty one,” Lena said, “but it’s already spoken for.”

“What do you mean?”

“Webby,” Lena sighed and she looked at Webby like she was so very young. Webby hated that look. “I know you’ve seen Scrooge pull a number of fast ones over the years, but you can’t fool a demon into making a deal with an already contracted soul.”

“Lena,” Webby said, feeling a wave of hysteria rise inside of her as the cogs in her head spun rapidly out of control. She had a feeling she wouldn’t like whatever Lena said next. “Who exactly do you think has a claim on my soul?”

“I don’t think, I know,” Lena said. She tossed her head to push the dyed feathers out of her eyes and shot Webby a smirk. “I do.”

“How?” Webby spluttered. “Since when?”

“We made a pact a decade ago when you were lost, scared, and about to be eaten by a pack of dire wolves,” Lena explained with a shrug. “You weren’t super specific on the terms of the agreement, but they seem to have worked out fairly well for us.”

“What were they exactly?”

“That I would always be your friend, have your back, and never lie to you.”

“Then you’re in breach of the agreement!”

“I am not!”

“Are too!” Webby insisted. “You never told me you were a demon!”

“You never asked and I promised to never lie to you, not tell you the truth,” Lena retorted.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a demon?”

“Because it would have made things weird between us and your Granny already didn’t like me when she thought I was just a regular duckling. You know how she feels about demons.”

Webby nodded. Mrs. Beakley regularly used a broom to bash away any haphazard demons or sprites that might get in her way while she was cleaning and the triplet’s demons all lived in fear of her. She barely tolerated Lena on a good day; Webby couldn’t imagine what she’d do to her if she knew the truth.

“Are you planning to eat my soul?” Webby asked.

“What kind of question is that?” Lena asked. “I’m your friend, aren’t I?”

“You’re my friend due to our contract,” Webby said, “and you didn’t answer my question.”

“Initially, I had been planning to eat it, yes,” Lena admitted. “But it’s so bright and pure I honestly think it would give me indigestion if I tried.”

“So what are you planning to do with it instead?”

“Do you know we could be so much more than friends?”

Webby stared at her. She couldn’t believe Lena was a demon, it just didn’t compute. Her brain had run out of willingness to carry the conversation on as if it didn’t involve this life altering truth bomb. Lena still looked like her regular old self—a super cool teen duck with dyed feather tips who knew all the right people and clubs and were her eyes suddenly all pupil? Okay yeah, maybe Webby could see the demonyness now. It certainly explained why she liked hanging out with Webby, who made the other nerds at school look like punky losers and had the social intelligence of a potted fern. She had always just figured the fact they were childhood friends meant that Lena could see past her quirks and oddities to the duck she was on the inside. She had thought they had a friendship based on mutual interests and respect, not contractual obligation weighted on the balance of her soul.  
That was more than a little disappointing to realize.

“You know what, no. No, I’m not taking the bait,” Webby said, rising to her feet. “If this is some sort of sick joke, congratulations, Lena, you’ve totally sold me on it. But if it’s not, my soul’s already been bargained away and you’ll get it when I die. You’re an immortal demon, a few decades to what, a century, is nothing to you so have a little patience. Because the first thing taught to any duck interested in making a contract is that once it’s made it’s unbreakable, changes can only occur if both parties agree to it, and a demon will never alter a deal in your favor.”

“Webby, those are good general rules to follow, but they don’t strictly apply to us,” Lena sighed.

“Not listening,” Webby said. “I’m leaving.”

With that she hopped out of the still open circle and bounded down the stairs. When she was halfway down the unbelievable happened and Webby not only slipped, but couldn’t regain her footing. With a yelp Webby put her arms over her head and tried to relax her body before impact in hopes it would minimize the damage from her fall. However, the landing never came. Instead, there was a forceful jerk on the back of her shirt and a moment later she was upright again with a warm arm firmly around her waist. When she looked back she could see Lena giving her a slightly exasperated, but mostly amused look.

“Believe me, I’m all about a grand exit, but next time try not to trip and fall on the stairs,” Lena said. “You nearly broke your neck and died.”

“And you’d just be heartbroken getting my soul so soon,” Webby spat. “Except you can’t let me die like that because the contract requires you to have my back!”

“Whatever Webby,” Lena huffed, rolling her eyes.

This time when Webby pulled away she was more careful with her descent down the stairs. Lena didn’t follow her. That was good; Webby didn’t want to see her anyway.

After that Lena didn’t bother hiding the fact she was a demon. At least not when it was just the two of them. Oh sure, she still looked like an attractive teen duck—and now Webby knew why Lena was so unfailingly attractive, demons had the uncanny ability to take on the guise one’s unconscious found most attractive and now she had to wonder if everyone saw Lena the same way—but she had creepy shadow powers. If she had known about them from the start Webby probably would have found them delightfully spooky, but now she thought them creepy because she didn’t know how long Lena had been using them. Plus, she was also super strong, unnervingly fast, and could also fly or at least hover and glide. Webby needed to run more tests to determine if it was true flight.

Over the next month Webby quickly lost count of how often Lena used her powers on their adventures. Suddenly a lot of things made more sense, like how Lena could effortlessly unlock doors when Webby was the one who spent hours practicing her lock picking every week or how Lena could instantly be anywhere. Shadows had an inherent connection to the opaque objects casting them and could move at the speed of light, which meant that the creature of them could manipulate their properties. Based on the powers she displayed, Lena seemed to be such a demon, which gave Webby a better understanding of what she might be capable.

Finding this out ought to have been a relief. It explained why Webby was always a step behind Lena, why she could never measure up. No mortal duck ever could. It should have taken the pressure off her. Instead it simply highlighted how little she really knew about her best friend. How had she missed the fact Lena was a demon for a decade? She should have noticed something; she was supposed to be observant.

“Not to tell you how to run your adventure, Webby, but spacing out while a volley of arrows are hurtling toward your face isn’t the greatest idea,” Lena said. Webby looked up to see the other duck holding a handful of arrows. “I’m cool with you needing to think, but can we find a safer place?”

“Does it really matter where I do it if you’re contractually obligated to have my back?” Webby asked, shrugging. “I mean, technically, you have to keep me safe anywhere.”

“Do you really want to get technical?” Lena sighed, rolled her eyes, and threw the arrows back at their source hard enough to destroy the ancient stone shooting mechanism. “Fine, let’s get technical. Because technically, you should be dead.”

“Excuse me?”

“At least a dozen times over.”

“You’re a demon obligated to keep me safe!” Webby snapped. “It’s not like you can let me die, so stop acting like you care!”

“You think that just because you know I’m a demon now that you suddenly know everything about me,” Lena snarled. Webby felt the downy feathers along the back of her neck stand on end as she took a step back. She had never felt this alarmed around Lena before and if she wasn’t worried about what she might do next Webby would totally stop to analyze her own fear response. “I haven’t been keeping you alive because of that laughably vague contract, I’ve been doing it because I care!”

“Lena,” Webby began.

“No, you listen to me! Any demon able to be summoned to this realm could slip out of the language of your contract. You demanded that I watch your back, i.e., protect you from threats specifically from behind. That means, if you want to get technical, that means I can ignore threats to you from every other direction.” Lena still held one arrow and she waved it in Webby’s face. “These arrows? Not from behind. That poisoned blow dart aimed straight at your jugular this morning? Not from behind. That spike pit you tumbled into headfirst last night? Also not from behind!”

“I got it,” Webby mumbled.

“In less than twenty-four hours I have saved you from death three times and I didn’t have to even once,” Lena said. “Do you want me to recount the other thirty-eight times I’ve done so this week when I didn’t have to? Because I can do that if you want. The number jumps up to fifty-four when you add in the contractually obligated times.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No, I’m not,” Lena said. She flipped her dyed tips out of her eyes with a nonchalant head toss. “Honestly my workload’s increased exponentially since you found out my true nature. It’s hard keeping you alive when you literally throw yourself into the jaws of death. Like you did on Tuesday. With the hydra.”

“Why?” Webby asked. “If I’m so much work why are you even bothering? Just let me die so you can eat my soul and be done with it.”

“Because I care about you, Webby. I don’t want anything eating your soul. Not ever,” Lena said. She placed both hands on Webby’s shoulders and stared intently into her eyes. “Demons aren’t supposed to feel love, but I would rend anything that tried to harm you limb from limb with my dying breath. I don’t know how to describe that feeling, but it’s not a contractual obligation. I know the difference.”

“You do?” Webby asked.

“Of course I do,” Lena grinned at her. “What? Did you think you were my first?”

“I dunno,” Webby mumbled. She looked down at her feet. “I’m still getting used to the fact you’re a demon. Haven’t really had time to think about your past contracts.”

“Oh Webby my Webby.” Lena gently pushed Webby’s chin up with a finger until they were making eye contact again. “You are important, the most important, but you are not the first. Is it the way I look that made you think that? This is the form that seemed most comfortable for you when we met, but I admit I’ve come to appreciate it over the years as well.”

“So you can really turn yourself into anything else,” Webby mused. It was nice to have that bit of lore confirmed. Sorting out fact from fiction in demonology was a dubious task at best and the rules one demon type played by were wholly different from another. Other than minding the contract, of course.

“Yes. Why, do you want me to be something else?

“No,” Webby said, surprising herself that she didn’t want to experiment with Lena’s form. “I just want you to be yourself.”

Lena smiled as if Webby had just told a great joke, but didn’t say anything.

“What’s so funny?”

“My true form is something more akin to a three dimensional shadow in this realm. You’ve seen it loads of times, though I doubt you realized. I prefer to stay in this form.”

“Does this mean you’ve been skulking around Scrooge’s manor watching me whenever I haven’t needed you as duck-Lena?”

“Pretty much?” Lena shrugged. “I guess that’s creepy, but it’s not like you’ve been summoning and dismissing me. Plus Mrs. Beakley would have noticed me eventually if I hung out in duck form all the time.”

“That’s the nicest thing anything’s ever done for me,” Webby said. She flung her arms around Lena and hugged her as tightly as possible. Lena groaned, but returned the gesture.

“Are we cool? You’re not going to keep throwing yourself into harm’s way at the slightest provocation?”

“No, no I’m not,” Webby agreed as she released Lena.

“Good.” Lena smiled as widely and earnestly as Webby had ever seen her.

Webby was suddenly far less interested in the temple than she had been before. So far it was stone for stone identical to a temple they had crawled through a year ago and all they had found in that one was a mildly cursed amulet. They could save this adventure for another day. She grabbed Lena’s hand and tugged her back toward the entrance.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. This isn’t half as interesting an adventure as I thought it would be,” Webby said.

“Sure.”

As they silently exited the temple Webby felt dozens of questions bubble up inside of her. To be fair they had been percolating for the past month, but she had made a point of taping that down due to her hurt feelings. Now she seemed to have every opportunity imaginable to ask questions and Lena showed no hesitation in answering. She knew she had to be logical with her questions and ask the most important ones first. Webby instantly knew which one that was, but it took her until they reached the temple entrance to work up the courage to ask.

“You really mean it? That you care about me?”

“Webby, I can’t lie to you,” Lena laughed. As they hit the sunlight there was a split second where Lena turned black and insubstantial like a shadow before returning to normal, but Webby was watching and she caught it.

“I need to hear you say it. I mean, without me prompting you.”

“I care more about you, Webby, than I care about anything else on this plane of existence,” Lena said. “You matter to me.”

“That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Webby sniffed. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“Yeah, well it’s true,” Lena grumbled. She dug a toe into the dirt while looking down and Webby was impressed by just how many mannerisms Lena had taken on in her time with her. Other demons just didn’t act like mortal folk. “And hopefully you won’t go spreading this around.”

“Your secret about being a big ole softy is safe with me,” Webby said. “And the secret about being a demon is safe too. I mean, I’m great with secrets!”

“You are,” Lena agreed.

“Is there anything you want outta life or whatever equitant demons have?” Webby squinted and tried to think of known demonic motivators. “Other souls to suck since you’ve decided not to eat mine?”

“You know, I’m pretty good on the whole soul thing right now. Don’t get me wrong, they’re super tasty, but I can’t really enjoy them the way I used to. Like, when I ate the soul of that Beagle Boy that tried to take your head off with a pickaxe—he deserved it, don’t even try to suggest otherwise because you weren’t with him in his last moments—I didn’t get the usual sense of enjoyment.” Lena frowned at Webby. She patted a spot low on the right side of her belly. “In fact I had this discomfort sitting right here for weeks afterward and I kept thinking about how sad you would be if you knew. Your sort of food isn’t particularly appetizing, but it’s filling enough and has never caused any unpleasant aftereffects.”

“I’m pretty certain that was guilt, Lena. You felt guilty for eating his soul.” Webby stared at her friend in wonder. “I’ve never heard of a demon feeling guilty before.”

“I’m not your typical demon and no, Webby, you can’t set up an experiment to test my emotional responses.”

“Aww… okay.”

“Webby, I want you to live forever. Or at least for however long as I exist.” Lena paused and turned to look at her. Her eyes had gone all black. Webby was pretty sure that meant she was planning to do something demonic, especially since there was suddenly enough power in the air that her downy feathers were standing on end again. “Have you ever asked me about immortality?”

“Wait a minute, are you telling me to ask for immortality? Like, real immortality with the eternal life and the impermeability?” Webby asked. “Is that even a thing you can do?”

“Technically, I can’t offer you true eternal life. I’m the wrong sort of demon for that and frankly, I doubt you’d want to pay the price for true immortality,” Lena chuckled. When she didn’t explain what the cost would be Webby decided she was probably right. While of course she wanted to know everything in general, it turned out there were a few things Webby had learned she was better off not knowing through unfortunate experience. “Are you interested?”

“I don’t know, you just told me to ask you about it!” Webby snapped, throwing her hands in the air. Lena gave her a hard stare and slowly Webby realized that if she wanted to know what she was driving at, she’d have to play along. “Fine. What are the downsides? All the downsides.”

“What I can offer is linking your life to mine. Your body would be impervious to any harm and you would live as long as I do. In theory that might not extend your life very long, as something could potentially end me, but I’d like to see anything try. If done right, and it would be done right, my death would not end your life instantly, but would end your immortality.”

“Would I stop aging?” Webby asked now curious. Demons so rarely offered this particular deal since the usual price of eating the mortal’s soul was off the table. She couldn’t think of a single article exploring this phenomenon.

“I don’t know,” Lena said with a shrug. “I’ve never offered this deal to anyone before, so I can’t speak from personal experience, but in the right light Scrooge can still pass for a duck in his fifties and he’s almost two hundred.”

“Wait a minute, _Scrooge McDuck_ made a deal with a demon?” Webby was delighted by this information. She had never heard of Scrooge make one deal, much less multiple deals, with demons. He was always about hard work and self-reliance, though admittedly he had always had his lucky dime.

“He’s the only duck I’ve ever head of who has contracts with multiple demons. Of course, I don’t know what he traded in any of his deals and he’s still locked in a battle to the death with Magica De Spell. I can’t tell you any more about that situation.”

If Lena said she couldn’t tell her anymore, then she couldn’t. However, that didn’t mean there wasn’t more to learn. Webby made a mental note to look more into the situation when they got back home. She always loved a new research project.

“Are you interested?” Lena asked.

“What’s the cost?”

“What are you willing to pay?”

“Gee, Lena, that’s not an open ended trap if I’ve ever heard one! I thought you were my friend!”

“Webby, you are the dumbest genius I have ever met!” Lena shouted, pulling at the feathers on her head. “Of course you’re my friend, I would never offer this deal to someone who I didn’t… who wasn’t… you. I’d never offer this deal to anyone but you. And I didn’t even want to make the deal now—I thought it could wait until you were at least in your twenties—but I’m terrified you won’t live long enough to make a deal later!”

“Lena,” Webby said, grabbing Lena’s arm. She wanted to calm her down because she was more upset than she had ever seen. “Lena, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to make a demon feel fear?” Lena growled. “Because I spend every day terrified this is going to be your last.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Just take the deal, Webby.”

“Okay,” Webby said softly. “What do you want?”

“I’ll settle for a kiss.”

That didn’t seem remotely fair for what she was offering, but Webby didn’t see any catch. Lena had made a point of closing loopholes and had already shown she stuck to the spirit of their prior agreement instead of the letter of the contract. No demon played their deals that way, but Lena wasn’t any other demon. Webby trusted her.

“Deal.”

Lena smiled at that and she looked genuinely happier than Webby had ever seen her. Perhaps the emotion was really over revising their contract, but if even the thought of kissing was enough to make her light up like that Webby would definitely have to try it with her more often. She was kind of excited about it as well; after all, how many people could say their first real kiss was with a demon? She vaguely wondered how this would be different from kissing any old regular duck.

Lena gently caught her hands with her own. She was looking down at her, but didn’t seem willing to make any more movements toward kissing her. Maybe this was something Webby had to initial for the contract to take hold, even if she had already given permission. Or maybe Lena was shy. Webby grinned. From the faint blush on Lena’s face she was betting on the latter. Before she started over thinking the situation and grew self-conscious Webby leaned forward and kissed her.

As soon as she pressed their bills together Webby felt a tingling sensation. It started in the tip of her bill, but soon radiated toward the rest of her body as her bill went numb. It was not a particularly pleasant experience and she was starting to wonder if her body would be rattled apart when Lena pulled back and the shaking subsided. Lena was panting slightly, but Webby didn’t feel out of breath in the slightest.

“Did that turn me into a demon?” Webby asked, staring down at her hands. They didn’t seem any different, but something felt slightly off. She still felt a little tingly, like maybe now her skin was a touch too tight.

“No, well, you might be a teensy bit demonic now,” Lena admitted, holding her thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “I think you’d be fine going into churches and the like, but maybe not pick up sacred relics with your bare hands?”

Webby gave her a long stare.

“Or you could be totally fine, since you should be impervious now! We’re in uncharted waters here,” Lena admitted. “But at least we’ll be together forever now.”

“Until the bitter end,” Webby agreed.

Lena looked up, suddenly nervous. “I hope you’re happy being stuck with me. I can’t really undo this now that we’ve done it—nothing is more powerful than a demonic contract. The safest thing you could do is send me back to my own realm and never summon me again, which would ensure you’d live forever.”

“Lena, that is the last thing I’m going to do. There is no one I would rather spend eternity with, or however long your lifespan is,” Webby promised. She interlaced their fingers together and rose up on her toes to kiss Lena’s cheek. “I have spent more than enough of my life alone already and I never want to be again. Trust me.”

“I do.”

“Excellent!” Webby laughed. Now what do you say we go back inside and see if it’s got the same silly cursed amulet as the last one?”

“I’m game,” Lena agreed. “Not like I have to worry about you dying now.”

Without further ado they went back into the temple. As they strolled further inside and away from the light Webby was a bit slow turning on her flashlight. That was when she made perhaps the most important discovery of the day.

“Oh my gosh I can see in the dark!” Webby shouted. She turned to Lena, who looked unimpressed. “Have you always been able to see in the dark?”

“I’m a creature of shadow. That’s kind of a given.”

“Being demonic is so cool!”


End file.
